The Best Horse Racing Betting Apps in the UK

Horse racing has long held a special place in British culture, with iconic events like the Grand National, the Cheltenham Festival, and Royal Ascot attracting huge crowds every year. Despite its long history and traditions, the sport is evolving, as is the way people engage with it. One noticeable shift in recent years is the surge in the availability of mobile betting platforms. Increasingly, UK racing fans are turning towards their smartphones to place bets on horse racing and also to watch the action live.

Horse Racing Betting Apps in the UK

Testing Criteria: How We Rated The Best Horse Racing Betting Apps

In the quest to find the best horse racing betting apps in the UK, our team of experts considers every key factor. To begin with, they will assess the design of the app to ensure it has a user-friendly interface and solid performance. A good-performing app is fast and responsive, as well as being free from bugs. Our team also checks that apps are safe and free from any obvious security vulnerabilities.

Another major consideration is what the app offers its players. For this, there are areas directly relating to horse racing, such as the frequency and quality of promotions, the variety of markets and the competitiveness of the odds. You also have more general areas like payment methods, safety and customer support, which can have a significant impact on the app experience.

Finally, user reviews and ratings from the Google Play and App Store also form part of the marking criteria. Although we rely heavily on our own analysis, the general sentiment of players is useful. An app with a lot of ratings and poor reviews can help highlight issues that might not be immediately apparent during testing.

Only after considering all these factors through a genuine user experience will our Nostrabet experts settle on a final score.

What Key Features Should a Horse Racing Betting App Have?

A great range of features can do so much to improve the overall betting experience when using an app. This is why players should not simply choose an app based on how it looks or the bookmaker’s reputation. Fortunately, in today’s competitive market, apps have improved so much that you do not have to be selective with what features you choose. The leading apps will provide you with all the key ingredients outlined below.

Great Odds

When betting on horses, you want to be well compensated when you make a winning selection. This means finding a bookmaker that provides great-value odds across races and markets. The bookie offering the best odds for a race is known as having the ‘best book’. This is measured by looking at the over-round, a calculation of the bookmaker’s built-in margin. The lower the overround, the better value the odds are for the bettor.

In addition to this, you have to factor in sites that offer a ‘Best Odds Guaranteed’ promotion. With this, bookies will pay out at official ‘starting price’ odds if you placed your qualifying bet at a lower price.

In-app Features

The best apps offer a lot of in-app features. One of the most popular additions is live streaming. After placing a bet, punters want to be able to watch their horses in action to cheer them along. Cash out is another popular feature. With this useful tool, players can cash out their bets for a price based on the current odds of the remaining selections. Players can settle an accumulator early, or even cash out a bet on a horse mid-race with some apps.

Other apps will include an overview of each competing horse and/or a summary of their last start. They may also include a range of tips or ‘verdicts’. Usually, this information will come from the Racing Post or Timeform. Some bookies may also pool together the views of racing journalists.

Ease of Navigation and Bet Placement

Any given day could see a bookmaker provide odds for 100+ races. This is why it is so important for an app to nail navigation, as it avoids players getting caught up in a sea of races and names. Bookies should design apps in such a way that players can find the exact horse/race they want quickly. They should also make it easy to switch between races, as bettors often want to bet on more than one event. Bet placement should be just as straightforward and take the minimum amount of time, as mobile players want convenience.

Regular Promotions & Bonuses for Horse Racing

While one-off promotions and welcome bonuses are always welcome, regular promos can make a big difference to horse racing punters. Whether Best Odds Guaranteed, or Non-Runner, No Bet, many of the best UK betting apps feature regular racing offers that are beneficial when betting on horses. Those who don’t offer any such regular incentives are marked down in our eyes.

Wide Coverage of Races

Covering all the races in the UK and Ireland is an absolute minimum for any bookmaker offering horse racing odds. What about action further afield, though? As there is decent demand for odds on international contests, the best horse racing platforms will offer global coverage. This means giving customers competitive odds on events happening in the likes of France, Japan, the USA, Australia, South Africa and the UAE. Usually, such races come with fewer markets, largely because they attract fewer bets than British and Irish contests.

Great Selection of Betting Markets

Users also want to see a lot of markets, as well as cover a lot of races. While many players will stick with the classic win or each/way options, others want a wider selection. Availability can vary, but ideally, an app will offer different markets for most races, particularly the UK and Irish ones. A few examples include forecasts, tricasts, top finishes, winning distances, and betting without or ‘to be placed’. If you are not having much luck picking race winners, there are plenty of other markets out there you can choose from. In some cases, you might end up spotting better value in these alternative options, despite not being covered by Best Odds Guaranteed.

Our Top Picks of the Best Horse Racing Betting Apps

The betting brands below are those that achieved the highest score for their mobile horse racing offering, as judged by our Nostrabet experts. Having beaten some considerable competition, you can be sure that these apps provide an unrivalled experience when it comes to horse racing. Packed full of features and available on both iOS and Android, these are among the best horse betting apps around for UK players.

Bet365: Best for odds and choice of markets

The Bet365 app really manages to impress when looking at horse racing. The choice of markets available is fantastic, with customers getting to enjoy so many possibilities. The likes of each way extra, either to win, money back insurance, ‘not to be placed’, give punters so much variety. Bet365 also offer bet builders for races, giving you an unrivalled level of customisation.

Another strength of Bet365 is its extra places promotions. Compared to their rivals, they tend to cover more races and sometimes offer an additional place. They also provide extremely competitive odds. In many races, you will see Bet365 giving market-leading prices for several runners, and not be too far behind for the remaining options. This, combined with their more wide-reaching Best Odds Guaranteed policy, which includes some races outside the UK and Ireland, gives players exceptional value.

William Hill: Best for global coverage

William Hill is a great horse racing all-rounder as it gives customers so much without any major weaknesses. Price boosts and extra places are quite regular features across UK races, and you will find ‘choose your winning distance’ for all of them. Through this handy market, you can specify the winning distance for every horse, e.g., over two lengths, to really boost the odds. Market availability, more widely speaking, is something William Hill do well, although much less so for races outside the UK and Ireland.

Although many international races only come with the win and each way betting options, William Hill cover an awful lot of them. Their global coverage is extremely strong and you can watch most of them on Betting TV through the app.

Ladbrokes: Best for information and tips

Ladbrokes offers its customers a top horse racing betting experience. On its user-friendly app, players can access a wide range of racing action taking place across the globe. Most races come with a live stream, which runs smoothly throughout. The app also boasts some excellent features, such as the ‘bet filters’, which enable you to find bets based on odds range, form, and/or star rating. Many races (including all UK and Irish) come with so much extra information you can access with just a tap. Selecting ‘Show Info’ reveals a spotlight summary and last run info, while ‘Racing Post verdict’ loads the RP summary, star ratings, and the most tipped names. Having all this useful content in one place, presented in such a well-organised way, makes the Ladbrokes app a pleasure to use.

Coral: Best for free extras

There are a lot of reasons why so many horse racing fans choose Coral as their main app. The handy ‘My Stables’ function enables users to make notes on horses and see which ones are running today. There is even an option to build your own racecard, enabling speedy betting across various races and courses. If you ever want more details on a race and the horses involved, you can access detailed information provided by the Racing Post with just a tap.

While we would also credit Coral for their range of bonuses and strong global coverage, it is the range of unique extras that makes it stand out. For one, you have the Coral Racing Club, a free-to-join programme that sees lucky players given yard tours and free raceday tickets. There is also the regular Racing Super Series, in which players can win a share of a big cash prize, usually £25k, just by picking horses that place in selected races.

Bwin: Best for straightforward betting

Bwin’s horse racing pages may not be quite as flashy as some of the others on this list, but their app experience will appeal to some. Opting for a straightforward focus that prioritises easy navigation, the Bwin app lets you bet fast with zero fuss. The lightweight design means the app runs extremely quickly, and it is simple to switch between courses and events.

While the focus is on simplicity, do not think the Bwin app comes with no features. Where available, races come with a Timeform Tip, and you can also see detailed odds movements for each horse whenever they fluctuate. The app also clearly marks races that have been priced up (rather than still showing SP). When priced, the odds themselves are perfectly solid, although not among the best, and you can find them for races happening all over the world.

Bonuses & Promotions Comparison

How to Choose the Right Betting App for You

With so many betting apps offering horse racing, finding the right one can be tricky. There is no single option that is best for everyone, as punters have different needs and preferences. Indeed, your own preferences and desires should be a big influence on your decision. Ask yourself what features you care about most. What do you consider essential additions, or where do you want to see great depth? For this, try to think of aspects such as live streams, market coverage, race coverage, promotions, odds, and cash out.

It is also a good idea to check out app user reviews and ratings. An app might have all the features you want, but if users are unhappy with it, you may want to reconsider. Reasons for a low average rating can vary, but they can include problems with the app itself, complaints with customer service, or issues with payments.

Lastly, you want to ensure that whatever brand you opt for has a valid UK Gambling Commission licence. Operators need this to operate legally in the UK, but some rogue providers may attempt to break the rules.

How to Download Any Horse Racing Betting App

Bookmakers do not usually have dedicated apps just for horse racing. You will instead find horse racing as part of their main betting app.

For iOS users, here are the steps for downloading a betting app:

1. Open the App Store on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap the search button and type in the app you want.
3. On the relevant app, tap the ‘Get’ button.
4. Tap ‘Install’ when prompted to confirm the download. 
5. Complete the verification step if prompted, such as fingerprint ID.

For those who use Android, follow these steps:

1. Open the Google Play Store.
2. Tap the search button and enter the name of the bookmaker.
3. On the search results, tap the name of the desired app or the drop-down arrow beside it.
4. Tap the ‘Install’ button.

In some cases, a bookmaker may have an Android app, but one you have to download via their mobile site, not the Google Play Store. While this can be perfectly legitimate, almost all larger brands are available within the Play Store.

How to Place a Bet on Horse Racing From a Mobile App

Although horse racing betting apps vary in their design, the process for placing a bet is largely similar:

1. Load up your preferred betting sportsbook.
2. Select ‘Horse Racing’ from the list of sports.
3. Tap on a race you want to bet on. Usually, races will be separated by course and ordered by time.
4. After tapping on a race, select the market you want to bet on.
5. Select the odds of the bet you want to place to add it to your betslip.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 for a multiple bet. Once complete, enter your desired stake on the betslip and confirm the bet.

Conclusion

While finding the right horse racing betting app for you is partly down to personal preference, some apps are objectively better than others. Apps that are well-designed, have good odds, rewarding promotions, and a wide range of features like live streams and in-race betting are likely to deliver a superior experience.

It’s also important to select a reliable app that has good payment policies, a trusted reputation, good customer support, and positive player feedback. Here at Nostrabet, we have highlighted the brands that provide the best horse racing betting experience, with all these key factors considered. By selecting one from our recommended list, the one that most suits your needs, you are giving yourself the best chance of making the right choice.

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